W Hotels is coming to Japan

11 Jan 2018 by Craig Bright

Marriott International’s lifestyle-focused W Hotels brand will be making its debut in Japan in 2021 when the new W Osaka is set to open its doors.

Standing 27 storeys and offering a total of 337 guestrooms – including 35 suites, two Wow Suites and one Presidential-style Ewow Suite – the new hotel will be located on the city’s main thoroughfare, Mido-Suji Boulevard, about an hour from Kansai International Airport.

Also located within the hotel will be a number of dining and “craft cocktail concepts” (the brand’s signature Woo Bar and poolside Wet Deck will both be making an appearance), along with a modern fitness centre called Fit and an Away Spa. W Osaka will also feature a 400 sqm Great Room for events and three meeting rooms.

“In 2020, Japan will capture the global spotlight, welcoming nations from around the world to the country on a grand scale for the 2020 games,” said Anthony Ingham, global brand leader for W Hotels Worldwide. “This is a great build up to the launch of the first-ever W in Japan.”

The new W will join a portfolio of more than 50 properties under the brand around the world, including the W Shanghai, which opened over the summer. The brand currently aims to hit 75 hotels by the end of 2020.

The company also announced last year that it will be opening three Edition Hotels in Japan – more than any other country – over the coming years. The Tokyo Edition, Ginza and The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon are both set to open in 2020, though a new Edition in Niseko Village in Hokkaido has yet to be given an opening date.

Marriott’s claim that the W Osaka will be the first of the brand’s hotels in the country also seems to indicate than a previously announced W Hotel also in Niseko Village – and also without an expected opening date – is likely to open its doors after the Osaka property in 2021.